Mark Herring Statement On Taking The Majority Of Votes On Election Day

From the Mark Herring for AG campaign, which now looks it may have been successful after all! As of this moment (6:17 am Wednesday), the State Board of Elections website shows Mark Herring with 1,098,418 votes (49.91%) to Mark Obenshain’s 1,097,877 (48.88%). Also, there three precincts outstanding – 2 in Mecklenburg County, which Obenshain won 60%-40%; and 1 in Rockingham county, which Obenshain won 75%-25%. So…Obenshain could pick up 100-150 votes, but he trails by 541 votes, making it a tough roe to how for Obenshain.

Mark Herring released the following statement regarding his lead in the race for Attorney General:

“Election Day is over and I am honored to have a majority of Virginians cast their ballots for me for Attorney General. Just before 2 a.m., we took a several hundred vote lead to become the next Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

“I am grateful to have earned the support of so many Virginans all across the Commonwealth and look forward to continuing to work on their behalf.”

UPDATE: Dave Wasserman of the Cook Political Report tweets: “By my math, Obenshain is likely to net another 700-800 votes from the three outstanding precincts. Herring’s current ‘true’ lead: 358 votes.” Thus, he adds: “So, I expect Herring (D) to be 300-500 votes short pre-provisionals. But who knows how many counting errors/uncounted absentees there are.”

UPDATE 10:17 am: This could very well come down to provisional ballots. In 2008, there were 4,575 of those case in Virginia. Not sure how many this year, but assuming Obenshain’s up just 82 votes (or a couple hundred for that matter), there should be way more than enough provisional ballots to determine this race. Democrats need to fight for every single provisional ballot, make sure people aren’t disenfranchised, that they have proper ID, etc. Republicans will almost certainly fight for the opposite. This is going to be a battle royale.

Congrats! Too close for comfort on Governor and AG race, though, for my taste. Dems need to reboot before the next election. Lisa S.

unstablefan

If not, I could easily imagine, say, late military votes, pushing Mark O over the top.

reasonoverfaith

All precincts in there now. Herring behind 53 votes. Rockingham has one precinct left. Recount here we come.

reasonoverfaith

Rockbridge County, not Rockingham.

reasonoverfaith

People working the polling for T-Mac and even the GOTV Obama folks stated and restated again today, that their polling showed him with only a 2-4% lead after removing the MOE. Which is why he pushed GOTV in NoVa. Makes sense. They knew they were not 6-7%.

Herring for Attorney General campaign manager Kevin O’Holleran released the following statement today:

“Since polls closed, we’ve seen several lead changes and based on our projections, we are going to win. When all of the votes cast are counted, including absentee votes and thousands of provisional ballots, we’re confident Mark Herring will be the next Attorney General of Virginia. We have a responsibility to make sure that that every voter is protected and every vote counts,” O’Holleran said.

The vote canvass begins today to verify election results, and account for thousands of absentee and provisional ballots.

Since the polls closed yesterday, results have been changed in several localities. Additionally, Virginia and other states have seen significant shifts, usually in the favor of Democrats, in the canvass the day following the election.

In November 2013, Dave Wasserman of the Cook Political Report wrote on Twitter: “So, I expect Herring (D) to be 300-500 votes short pre-provisionals. But who knows how many counting errors/uncounted absentees there are.” [Dave Wasserman Twitter, 11/6/13]

In November 2013, Dave Wasserman of the Cook Political Report wrote on Twitter: “AP has fixed Loudoun error. HOWEVER, it has not fixed Buchanan error, which means Herring’s “true” lead is more likely 416, not 616.” [Dave Wasserman Twitter, 11/6/13]

Dave Wasserman: “There Are Going To Be Lots Of Shifts In The Vote Before We Even Get To The Inevitable Recount”

In November 2013, Dave Wasserman of the Cook Political Report wrote on Twitter: “Bottom line on VA AG: there are going to be lots of shifts in the vote before we even get to the inevitable recount. No answers tonight.” [Dave Wasserman Twitter, 11/6/13]

Dave Wasserman Reported That A Transcription Error In Loudoun Was “Shortchanging” Herring By 600 Votes

In November 2013, Dave Wasserman of the Cook Political Report wrote on Twitter: “Whoa! via @Dsquared75 & @jlock, it appears a transcription error in Loudoun is currently shortchanging Herring (D) by ~600 votes.” [Dave Wasserman Twitter, 11/6/13]

Aaron Blake: “This Is Closer Than Coleman-Franken”

In November 2013, Aaron Blake of the Washington Post tweeted: “Obenshain leads by 53 votes with 2 precincts yet to report. This is closer than Coleman-Franken, folks.” [Aaron Blake Twitter, 11/6/13]

In Tom Perriello’s Race, Vote Counts “Had Fluctuated Widely During The Two Days After Election Night”

According to the Charlottesville Daily Progress: “The vote count in the 5th District – which includes Charlottesville and the counties of Buckingham, Fluvanna, Greene and Nelson – had fluctuated widely during the two days after election night. By Friday afternoon, however, each of the district’s 22 localities had reported verified numbers that indicated Perriello received 158,703 votes, while Goode had 157,958.” [Charlottesville Daily Progress, accessed 11/6/13]

“Perriello And Goode Were Neck-And-Neck” Until Charlottesville “Revised Its Vote Count From Election Night”

According to the Charlottesville Daily Progress: “Perriello and Goode were neck-and-neck until Thursday afternoon, when Charlottesville revised its vote count from election night. Two precincts, election officials discovered, had neglected to report 650 votes in Perriello’s favor.” [Charlottesville Daily Progress, accessed 11/6/13]

Albemarle County Found 100 More Votes For Perriello After Their Vote Canvass

According to the Charlottesville Daily Progress: “Albemarle County election officials wrapped up their vote canvass Friday, finding another 100 votes for Perriello. In Albemarle’s case, the officials found, an election official at the Free Union precinct misreported Perriello’s tally as 442, rather than the correct 542.” [Charlottesville Daily Progress, accessed 11/6/13]

In November 2005, the Washington Post reported: “On election night, Deeds went to bed about 1,400 votes ahead. By morning, McDonnell was ahead by nearly 2,000. Now, his lead has fallen to the hairsbreadth that it is.” [Washington Post, 11/20/05]

Bob McDonnell Ended Up Winning By 360 Votes

In January 2006, the Richmond Times Dispatch reported: “State Sen. R. Creigh Deeds of Bath County, who lost the attorney general’s race by 360 votes onehundredth of 1 percent – has introduced two bills that he feels might have enabled him to win.” [Richmond Times Dispatch, 1/19/06]

DJRippert

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Then, this comment from K in VA:

“*[new] Boot out white men? (0.00 / 0)

Might “rebooting” include booting white men out of the state? That would certainly bring progress generally (though it would be a cruel thing to do to the people wherever the white men landed).”

I wonder what those who frequent BlueVirginia would have said about that comment if:

(a) It appeared on BearingDrift

(b) “White” was replaced with “black”

(c) The people who run BearingDrift left the comment up

Interesting standards in play around here.

Amherst Guy

State Board of Elections now has Herring up by 32 votes. I think whomever is certified the winner will be the next AG and that if this is the final number we win. I assume all the canvas results are not in but is there any reason for us not to feel a bit optimistic?